Different, but the same!
by EmmaShalforever
Summary: What if Emma and Shalimar meet when Mutant X doesn't exist and they feel a connection? ES based.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Not mine 

Pairing: Hehe, Shal and Emma…

AN: I think this is a story without Mutant X, but I'm not sure yet. The one thing I do know is that Emma and Shal meet each other like normal people could, but at the same time it's different. Am I making any sense? Or maybe it's before Mutant X so that they can join the team when they're together? All I know is that it is Shal and Emma…R R please because I'm unsure about this story.

-

She was walking down a crowded street, looking at all the normal, peaceful and ignorant people walking past her. She knew very well that she was neither one of those things. She was different, stronger and faster than normal. When she walked in the crowds she couldn't help but wonder how it was like to live a normal life, going to work, make dinner, watch TV and not knowing what went on in the world. Not being chased by men in black suits, having abilities that made you more of an animal then a person…Sometimes she hated it, but she had soon enough realized that it was a good ability to have in many situations.

Now she was walking down the streets, opening herself up and letting all the daily sounds and smells cover her senses. That was when she noticed it, a beautiful and exciting smell, but still indefinable. It wasn't like anything she had smelled before and it was moving towards her. Her head and eyes went more and more clouded as this smell, this person was coming closer. She noticed a young woman with blue eyes and brown hair. She was taller than herself, but had a nice form and it looked like she was scared or worried or at least uncomfortable being around all these people. They locked eyes for a second before the girl hurried past her. She stopped. Her senses had picked up something different from this girl. Could it be that this woman was like herself, not normal? She shook it off and started walking again. That couldn't be and even if it was, she would be long gone by now.

-

She was taking a shower, preparing for a night out and couldn't stop thinking about the woman she had seen. She really had seemed different hadn't she? It was clearly something about her that had caught her feral senses, but she couldn't quite say what it was. She tried to push it away, telling herself that she would probably never see her again anyway.

-

The club was pretty crowded, not that I cared, but it made me stay on guard. When strange men come after you it gets into a habit being alerted all the time. I took a deep breath, smelling the atmosphere and was slightly confused when I felt a familiar scent. I blocked everything out, trying to focus on this one particular person and was drawn towards the bar.

Just like I thought, a woman with blue eyes and brown hair was sitting by the desk with a drink in her hand. The woman was looking around the crowd and seemed like she was going to leave any second.

I figured that seeing this girl two times in one day had to mean something, so I walked over to her.

"Can I buy you a drink? I don't think a woman like you should sit here all alone."

"And what is a woman like me exactly?"

"A beautiful and special lady, who seems to be bored and uncomfortable around normal people."

"Really?" She had a playful tone and her smile was hypnotising. "I'll take a tequila sunrise please."

"Sure."

"I'm Emma."

"I'm Shalimar, but you can just call me Shal."

"Nice name."

"Yeah, I kinda like it."

A short silence followed.

"So why are you here?"

"You want me to answer you truthfully?"

"That would be nice."

"Well, I saw you at the street earlier today and then I saw you at the bar and I figured seeing you two times in one day meant something so I wanted to try my luck."

"Do you believe in faith?" She looked into my eyes and I noticed her concentrated face when I looked back. I couldn't help getting the feeling that she was trying to read me or that she was inside my head.

"No," I said hesitantly, looking back into her eyes. "I believe that you decide what happens yourself…Sorry, I just get the feeling that you are doing something to me."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She broke our eye contact and my feeling of being invaded stopped.

I leaned closer to her. "So what's your power?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you do to me? It felt like you were inside my head or something."

"I…I didn't do anything." She put her glass down. "I have to go."

"No, wait," My arm stretched out for her, but she was already moving away.

I got up and was about to follow her when the bartender reminded me that I hadn't paid for the drinks. I hurried, not caring about the changes and almost ran through the crowd so I could reach Emma who was already out the door.

-


	2. Chapter 2

When she got outside she didn't see Emma right away, but when she looked around she noticed five guys in black that was walking to the left, so she followed them. It didn't take her much of an effort to follow them and she noticed they were trying to catch up with Emma who had noticed them and was running.

They tricked Emma into a dead end and were moving closer when Shalimar decided to join the show. She placed herself between Emma and the men with a half smile on her face.

"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Two of the guys ran towards her, but all she needed to do was to hand out two simple kicks, sending them almost flying backwards. The three remaining guys stood still for a moment before two of them attacked. Shalimar dodged their fists and saw in the corner of her eyes that the third man was moving towards Emma, backing her up against the wall. Shalimar did a graceful somersault over the two guys, landing right behind the third man who was just stretching his hand out to take Emma. Shalimar took his arm and he turned his head to look at her. Her eyes turned yellow.

"Don't touch her," she said before throwing him backwards. He hit the two guys she had jumped over, sending all of them to the ground. She turned around, looking at all the men, preparing for more fighting, but they seemed to be scared. They fumbled trying to get up and started backing away from her. She took a few steps towards them and they all started running.

Shalimar stood there for a while trying to decide whether or not she should follow them, but decided it would be better to stay with Emma.

She turned around and looked into a confused and scared and admiring face.

"Are you okay?" She asked stepping closer to Emma, offering a small smile.

"I, I think so. What just happened?"

"You were chased by some guys."

"Yeah, I, I got that part…Your eyes-"

"Oh, that thing, um, that's kinda a result of my abilities."

"What abilities?"

"You know the not normal thing. You have abilities too, just different."

"I don't have any abilities."

"Look, I felt that you were different so don't try to deny it okay? I'm not the enemy here, I was just…" She sighed. "Forget it."

"You were just what?"

"I was just buying you a drink because I liked you, but you clearly don't want anything to do with me so I'll just go. Bye."

Shalimar started walking away, but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Wait. I don't wanna walk alone. Can you follow me home? Please!"

Shal looked at the woman's scared face and let out a small, almost unnoticeable sigh.

"Fine, but no clinging." Shalimar tried to give her a serious look, but failed.

"I promise, no clinging."

"Okay, which way?"

"I'll show you."

-

Shalimar stopped outside the block.

"I think I'll get going now that you're safe."

"Don't you wanna come up? I could get you something to drink or something?"

"I'm not sure there's any point."

"Come on, I just wanna talk to you and thank you for saving me."

Emma walked over to Shalimar and took her hands. "I'm not gonna do anything to you, I promise." She had a playful tone and a sly smile, and Shalimar felt her heart starting to beat slightly faster.

"I don't think you could do anything to me," She answered back and followed Emma who was still holding her hand.

When they reached Emma's apartment Shalimar felt slightly nervous as Emma unlocked the door.

"Are you sure you want me to come in?"

"Yeah. Why? Are you planning to hurt me or something?" She let out a short laugh and a smile.

"Oh no, it was nothing like that."

"Well, then please come inside."

"Sure."

Shalimar mentally kicked herself. How could she act this way? Why was she suddenly so shy and unsure? She knew that was not normally how she was.

She noticed Emma looking at her and she started to blush.

"I'm sorry; could I use your bathroom?"

"Of course, it's the first door to the right after the living room."

"Thanks." Shalimar offered an apologetic look as she walked off.

She locked herself inside the bathroom. "My God, Shalimar. What are you doing?"

She turned on the water and looked around. She found a few of Emma's perfume and couldn't help but smell at them even though she felt like an invader. After a while she decided that she couldn't stay in the bathroom any longer so she unlocked the door and walked carefully out. She made sure she didn't make any sound as she walked gently. She didn't see Emma in the living room, but her feral senses heard movements from the next room. She walked silently to the door that was slightly open and saw Emma standing in front of her bed with several clothes and in only her underwear. Shalimar froze. She knew she shouldn't be standing there, but she didn't have enough will to look away, the sight in front of her was too beautiful and too arousing. Just as she thought about this, Shalimar smelled the same feelings coming from Emma and then she turned around and looked right into Shalimar's eyes. Shalimar's heart jumped. She was caught and suddenly she understood what Emma could do, or at least to a certain degree. Emma was a psionic. What had she heard about psionics? Oh, right, some of them could read your mind or feel your feelings. Shit, this was not going to be a happy end, she knew that much. Her thought were cut by Emma's voice.

"Shalimar, I didn't know you were here."

"I, I'm sorry, I, I didn't mean-"

"Do you like what you see?"

"No, I mean yes, I mean it wasn't like that-"

Shalimar felt her cheeks starting to burn. Why was this happening? What was going on with her?

Emma had moved over to the door and opened it, still in only her underwear.

"Shalimar are you okay?"

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was in the bathroom.

"What the hell-"she told herself, looking around. What was going on? Had she fallen asleep? No, she was still standing and she still had Emma's perfume in her hand. The strong smell filled her nose and head so she almost felt dizzy. She hurried to put them back down and opened the door. Emma stood there with a worried but at the same time unsure look.

Shalimar remembered her "dream." She didn't know what to call it so she settled with that.

"I'm fine. Uh, can I ask you a question? Are you a psionic?"

"Define psionic."

"Can you read thoughts or feel my feelings or something?"

"She looked away. "No, why?"

"You're lying."

"Look, I really don't see what that has to do with-"

"Is that why you came here? What did you feel from me?"

"I felt nothing. You have just been in there for a while."

An uncomfortable and embarrassing silence followed.

"Uh, do you want anything to drink?"

"I'll take water please."

"I'll be right back, just settle yourself in the living room."


	3. Chapter 3

When Emma got back in with two glasses, Shalimar had settled herself in the sofa.

"Nice place by the way."

"Thanks, I think it's kinda cosy." She handed her the water and sat down beside her.

"So, do you know who the guys that were after me was?"

"I only know that they work for some agency and that they are looking for people with powers, like you and me." Shalimar gave her a stern look, but Emma didn't move away from her gaze, she just ignored the hinting in Shal's answer.

"What kind of powers do you have?"

"I'm a feral. I have half animal DNA. And you are a psionic."

"I-"

"Don't deny it."

"I wasn't going to. How many kinds exist? What kind of powers do the different types have?"

"I'm not really sure because I don't know so much about it. I know that there are four types of, it's called mutants I think. Feral, elemental, molecular and psionic. There are a lot of different powers, but I think the names give you a little clue of what their powers evolve around. That's pretty much all I know except from that there are people chasing us and they do not treat us very nice."

"I take it you have had some fights with these guys?"

"A few, yeah, but as you see I'm still alive and kicking." Shalimar gave a huge smile before turning serious again.

"Does that scare you?"

"Does what scare me?"

"That we are different and that I can be a danger to you."

"No, it doesn't really scare me that much. At least not the being around you part. I can't really say that I like being different though."

"So what exactly are your abilities?"

"I think I can read and affect other people's emotions. And believe me, that is enough to drive me insane sometimes. It's not exactly my dream to feel what other people feel because it affects me so much."

"So when we met at the club, where you reading me?"

"A little. I just feel more comfortable if I know what your intentions are."

"And what are my intentions?"

"I'm not sure. Does it scare you that I can feel what you feel?"

"It's a little scaring because I loose my privacy, but I've never really been good at hiding emotions anyway so you would probably notice to a certain degree how I feel one way or the other."

"Most people are afraid of that. I don't have many friends because of my gifts."

"It must be hard."

"Yeah, and it's not like I want to feel everything other's feel. It can be very unpleasant sometimes."

"Well, at least I would like to get to know you better. I must admit that sometimes I'm feeling very alone and confused myself and it would be great to hang out with someone who understands how it feels. What am I saying, you didn't want anything to do with me."

Shalimar stood up. "I have to get home." She started walking towards the front door. Emma stood up and followed her.

"Wait, I didn't mean what I said about you. I was just scared. I really want to see you again."

Shal had already found her jacket and was standing by the door. Emma walked closer to her.

"I was hoping that we could, you know, go out or something."

"Are you asking me on a date?"

"Maybe, do you wanna go?"

"Sure, we can meet at the same bar we met in today. Is 8 okay?"

"It's perfect." Emma walked even closer to Shalimar and Shalimar felt her heart beating unnaturally fast.

"I forgot to thank you," Emma said before she leaned over and gave Shalimar a short kiss.

Shalimar flashed a smile. "That was a really bad thank you. You're gonna have to do better than that tomorrow."

"I promise."

Shalimar didn't move.

"Eh, shouldn't you be on your way home?"

"Right, home. Yeah, I'll just…I'll go home and I will see you tomorrow. Bye."

She opened the door and hurried out, slightly embarrassed.

-


	4. Chapter 4

Emma was standing outside the door to the bar. She couldn't seem to decide if she should go inside or just leave now before it was too late. What did she really know about this woman? She wasn't sure she wanted to get involved with someone because of her gifts. Shalimar seemed to be very in touch with her powers and Emma felt more like denying them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just go in there. This woman apparently likes you and she doesn't run away even though she knows that you can feel and manipulate her emotions and feelings. At least that's a good sign. And she is definitely hot. What is it they say, you can't gain if you don't try…She took another deep breath to shake her doubts and worries away and walked inside.

She walked through the crowd and saw Shalimar sitting in the bar already looking at her. Emma knew that she probably had smelled her presence a long time ago.

"Hi," she said as she sat down on a chair.

"Hey. I was worried that you were gonna turn and leave me alone. Why were you hesitating?"

"I wasn't hesitating, I was just thinking. And as far as I'm concerned that's none of your business." Even though she said it in a serious voice she was smiling because it was something about this woman that made it impossible to feel angry or to be serious without teasing.

Shalimar just gave her a teasing and knowing look back.

"So what do you wanna do?" Shalimar asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"I don't know."

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really, are you?"

"Not really."

They both laughed.

"Well, we could go home to my place since you haven't seen it yet. We can be childish and rent a movie?"

"Sounds like fun."

"Ok, follow my lead beautiful lady." She stretched out her hand and Emma took it immediately.

"Thank you."

-

They locked themselves inside Shalimar's apartment and Emma found a place in the sofa. They had rented a movie on the way and Shalimar had let Emma pick the movie, to a much suspicious feral who Emma felt wasn't really agreeing with her choice of movie, but was trying to appear perfectly fine with it. Emma knew it was a little mean, but she had felt like watching a romantic movie out of two reasons. One: It was like the genre said, romantic. Two: Shalimar would probably get so bored that she would pay attention to other things. She was slightly surprised by her own motives, but on the other hand she figured that it probably was like every other thing after she had met Shalimar; she had been much more "in touch" with herself and her powers and had felt things she didn't think she could or wanted to feel.

Shal was standing behind the couch.

"Okay, so what do you want to drink? I have…well, what do you want, alcohol, soda…?"

"Since we're going to watch a movie I can just take soda, it's easier."

"Ok, I'll be back in a sec with soda and biscuits."

Shalimar tried to look at Emma at the same time as she was pretending to look at the movie. She had really tried to watch the movie, but it was way to boring for her, especially when Emma was sitting next to her. God, how she just wanted to turn Emma's head and give her a deep kiss. She wanted to touch her body, to feel the soft and beautiful skin under her fingers, to-

"You're staring."

"No I'm not, I'm watching the movie."

"You stopped paying attention to the movie three minutes after it had started."

All the while Emma had been looking at the screen and Shalimar felt like a child being caught and getting lectured because she didn't pay attention to what they were supposed to be doing.

She tried to watch the movie, but found her eyes moving away to look over at Emma again.

"You're staring again." This time Emma turned and looked straight into Shalimar's eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. We could just do something else, something that falls more under your kind of taste."

"And what's that?"

"Well, something like this…"

Emma leaned over and kissed Shalimar. Both women were surprised, Emma by her own sudden courage and Shalimar because she had expected to get some kind of lecture instead of a kiss.

When Emma felt that she didn't get an immediate respond she tried to pull back, but was stopped by Shalimar who laid one hand around Emma's shoulder while the other cupped her face, forcing their lips to meet again. Shalimar deepened the kiss by switching between sucking at Emma's upper and lower lip and after a little while she felt Emma reaching out with her tongue so she met Emma's tongue with her own at the same time as she moved towards Emma, settling herself on top of her.

They broke the kiss and locked eyes, their breathing uneven.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Shalimar said in a low voice as she felt how the excitement was running through her body.

Emma smiled at her. "How can I say know when I feel how you're feeling?"

"I don't want you to feel pressured Emma. We've only known each other for a few days and now we're about to have sex. I just want to make sure this is what you want because if you don't feel ready I can wait."

"This is what I want Shalimar, I'm sure."

"Ok," she answered before leaning down, kissing her again. Her hands moved down over Emma's shoulders and down her sides, moving under the shirt and upwards again reaching the lines of her bra. Emma moved her hands to Shalimar's back, pulling her closer at the same time as Shalimar started massaging her breast through the bra. A low moan escaped Emma's lips as she reached under Shalimar's shirt. Shalimar stopped what she was doing and pulled away.

"Maybe we should move to a more comfortable place?"

"Mmmm, maybe."

Shalimar stood up and took Emma's hands in her own, leading her to the bedroom.

-


End file.
